Without skipping a beat, when she retired in March 2015 after 26 years as a director and trainer with Hawaii Army Child and Youth Services at Ft. Shafter and Schofield, she started volunteering with St. Francis Healthcare System. Her background and experiences made her a perfect fit for our hospice volunteer program.

Her energy was evident right from the start. Rita insisted on seeing our 15 patients at Aloha Nursing and Rehab, and conducting home visits with one of our home hospice patients.

In addition to ministering to hospice patients, Rita takes on special assignments. She dressed up as Santa for the patients at Aloha Nursing & Rehabilitation facility in December and this past Easter, dressed up as the Easter Bunny and visited the residents of St. Francis Intergenerational Center, Franciscan Vistas Ewa, and then hopped over to the Manoa Adult Day Center & Convent to the Sisters of St. Francis.

But that’s not all Rita does. Besides volunteering for St. Francis three days a week, she leads a recovery program on Mondays and facilitates a Catholic scripture reflection and bible study at the Kailua Women’s Prison. Rita, who is a wife and mother of two grown children, also started volunteering at Castle Medical Center.

“This volunteer is like the ‘Energizer’ bunny!” Maylynn said. “Can you believe this woman is retired? Aren’t you exhausted just listening to how active she is? I know I am!”